Hot & Sour Soup

I love Chinese Food, and one of my favorites is the Hot & Sour Soup. Turns out it is pretty easy to make once you have all the ingredients assembled. It also tastes better than most of the restaurants when you make it fresh! I wonder who "Chang" is?

Chang's Hot & Sour Soup

4C chicken broth
4 small mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 lb lean pork, sliced into thin strips
1/2 C bamboo shoots, cut into thin strips
1/4 lb beancurd (firm tofu), cut into 1/2" cubes
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3/4 tsp ground pepper
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 C water
1 egg, beaten

Heat chicken broth to boiling, add mushrooms, pork and bamboo shoots. Reduce heat, simmer five minutes. Add tofu, vinegar, soy sauce, and pepper. Simmer one minute. Blend cornstarch and water, add to soup, stirring until clear and slightly thickened. Turn off heat. While stirring continuously, slowly pour egg into soup.
Serve

Rum Chocolate Mousse

This recipe is really easy once you realize you are making "Mousse"!


Rum Chocolate Mousse

Cook over low heat, until dissolved, but not brown:
1/2 C Sugar
2 to 4 Tbsp Rum

Melt in a double boiler:
1/4 lb (4 squares) semisweet chocolate

When the chocolate is melted, stir in:
2 to 3 Tbsp. whipping cream

Add the sugar/rum syrup to the melted chocolate and stir until smooth. When it is cool, Fold in:
2 stiffly beaten egg whites

Fold the combination very gently into
2C whipped cream

Chill in pretty dessert glasses at least 2 hours before serving.

Apple Pecan Pie

I made this pie for Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, it is really yummy. Not too much pecan (which can be really rich) and the apples were from Peacefield Orchard! For the crust I admit I use the roll out kind and on the second pie, I left the pecans whole and used about twice as much, very tasty!

Ingredients:

2 pie crusts
2 T + 1 tsp flour
1/4 C finely chopped pecans
3 tart apples (granny smith) peeled and sliced
3 sweet apples (golden delicious) peeled and sliced
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Line a 9" pie pan with bottom crust and sprinkle with pecans and one teaspoon of flour.
Mix apples, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.
Spoon apple mixture over the pecans.
Top with the second pie crust and flute the edges. Cut slits in the top.
Bake 35-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Serve warm or cold with ice cream or whipped cream.

Roasted Root Vegetables

If you like roasted potatoes and garlic... you will love this dish. The first time I had it was actually quite recent. Kris made it for the girls dinner one night during bible study. Very tasty! I like to mix up the potatoes, one red, one russet, one gold, one ... you get the idea!

Ingredients:

3 Potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled, cut into quarters
1-2 Turnips, peeled and cut into large bite pieces
1-2 Parsnips, peeled and cut into large bite pieces
1-2 Rutabegas, peeled and cut into large bite pieces
5 Carrots, scrubbed and cut into large bite pieces
1/4 C Olive Oil
1T fresh Thyme, chopped
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cloves garlic
optional: add 10 extra cloves of whole garlic (not minced)

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

Sunrise Cassarole

I made this breakfast cassarole for Christmas Day and then again for New Years Day - it was very yummy and my family loved it. Plus, it was easy because you make it ahead of time, like the day before! Just be sure to give yourself enough time in the morning to cook it. It has to set for 30 minutes and then bake for an hour. I made the whole thing and we had leftovers for three days, which reheat great in the microwave. The original magazine article said it only costs $1.33 per serving! Tastes great with fresh salsa!


Johnsonville® Sunrise Casserole

2 pkgs. (12 oz. each) Johnsonville® Breakfast Sausage Links
9 eggs
3 cups milk
1-1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 pkgs. (20 oz. each) refrigerated shredded hash browns
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 cups salsa or picante sauce, optional

Directions:
Slightly brown the sausage and slice into 1/4 inch coins (or substitute chub sausage and crumble it).

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper. Add the hash browns, sausage, cheese, sweet red pepper and green onions; mix well. Pour into a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350˚F for 65-70 minutes or until set and golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with salsa or picante sauce if desired.

Yield: 12 servings

Tom sent in the rest of his recipe... this is a good start to my comfort foods collection! Much praise to you Tom for sharing this family secret! I believe this recipe may become a base for many recipes to come!!

"I do have to get my mother's permission, since it's a family recipe spanning dozens of seconds. Oh, heck, here it is, be sure to save it: First, make a fire, the hotter the better. Second, get a pot big enough for your purpose, better to go bigger than smaller. Third, gather enough water to fill approximately 3/4 of the pot. Fourth, pour the water into the pot (preferably before placing the pot on the fire). Fifth, place the pot on the fire. Lastly, don't fall asleep with a rapidly boiling pot of water, or you'll never lose that smell. Now your boiling water is ready for cooking ONLY, otherwise you won't enjoy the results of boiling water on skin. I provide this information as a public servant, pro bono. You don't have to thank me."

Which recipe shall be first...

I have to share the recipe Tom sent me, he lives in Florida, but I met him in Thailand (and Singapore) he was a spy and I was in the Peace Corps!
He said he had a recipe for boiling water, and I bit...is it classified as a beverage or soup???

"Generally if the water is hot, I have classified it as a soup. If cold, it's a beverage. I know, I know, there's a gray area, what about a cold soup, or, hot beverages? I would call my recipe for boiling water a preparatory ingredient for multi-cultural cuisine, so it's pretty much part of important food preparation for nearly all dishes, and my recipe should not be taken lightly."

I can see I am going to have fun with this!

One thing I make a lot and don't want anyone to know the secret... except you guys...

Triple Chocolate Chunk Brownies
I get the commercial size box of Hershey's Triple Chocolate Chunk Brownies from Smart & Final and make two individual 9x9 pans and one double 13x9 pan. The secret is the eggs, yep, free range eggs from my chickens. They make everything taste better!

Next I will tell you how to make cheese from my fresh (squirted) goats milk. I am currently milking three goats, which means about a half gallon twice a day (right after the kids are weaned it is about a gallon twice a day!) so I am making a lot of cheese and rice pudding!

The goats are Emily, Catherine, and Lily... all three had tripletts last summer. I have three boys, one from each here too. Go to my facebook to see pictures! Emily is part nubian and the best milker, the friendliest too. Goats are smart and sly! They figure things out!

Simply Living Self-Sufficiently

After watching Julie/Julia, my head was spinning for the number of ideas popping in and out. "I have thoughts!" After thinking about all the options and opportunities I have come to the conclusion that I want to put together a collection of ways to live more self sufficiently, more old fashioned, and to keep it simple.

One of the aspects of this is that I have always wanted to write a cookbook, about apples, or casseroles, or my holiday favorites... And I have decided to put together a collection of recipes of favorite comfort foods! Meals that sound so good and "comforting" you can't help but want to try them.

I also want to include the favorite foods from our childhood, along with the stories that made them so special. My mom wasn't a very imaginative cook, but we survived and she taught us how to cook! My brother, Geoffrey, became a Chef (he recently retired from his job as a Pastry Chef). I am a very good cook, although humble, and love it!

So, now to get started! Through the Antique Store (Wynola Junction Antiques & Collectibles in Julian, California) I will start collecting recipes and post them here. We can all try them and comment. Please send your favorite recipes (and the story that goes with it) to me at tturner@pacbell.net or through the store website at www.wynolajunction.com.